Telephone con artists targeting grandparents, Syracuse police warn

Syracuse, NY – Scammers are after grandparents, or at least their money, according to the Syracuse police.

Police issued a warning Monday that imposters are calling senior citizens claiming to be their grandchildren and asking for money for bail or to pay a fine.

A fake “grandchild” made a recent call, “crying very hard because he had been arrested in Canada and needed money for bail,” police said. The victim didn’t recognize the voice. “Grandma, do you know who this is?” the caller asked.

At that point, the grandmother asked, “Is this Sam?”

The con artist then had the grandchild’s name. Pretending to be her grandchild he told her he had been arrested and his passport and credit cards taken. The grandmother was told to wire $2,900 to him in Canada.

Fortunately, police said in a release, the woman contacted other family and learned her grandson was not in Canada.

Syracuse Police offered some pointers:

Don’t fill in the blanks for the caller. Con artists rely on victims to provide information. Ask them to give their name to you. If you do not provide them any information, they will likely hang up.

Confirm where family members are by calling other family members or the grandchild they claim to be. Use phone numbers you have, not any the caller gives you.

Send no money unless you have verified the situation.

Don’t give out personal identifying information such as bank account or credit card account numbers to anyone you do not know.